ABC on Monday night delivered an even shoddier than usual piece of advocacy for President Barack Obama in the guise of a news story, duplicity which started with fill-in anchor George Stephnopoulos, trying to make Obama’s comments seem well-timed and topical, falsely describing statistics, released more than two weeks ago, as “new numbers today show...” Stephanopoulos intoned:

Now to a stunning example of the U.S. falling behind where we shouldn't. New numbers today show eleven countries, including Canada, South Korea, and Russia, now lead the U.S. in the rate of young adults getting college degrees. That spells trouble, and President Obama said we can't afford to ignore it.

On screen, ABC credited the College Board and, indeed, the “College Board Advocacy & Policy Center” released such a report – but back on July 22 (press release). Reporter Yunji de Nies managed to produce a story on the administration’s promise “everything is on the table” to improve education, yet she failed to mention how the administration’s loyalty to teacher unions blocks public school reform.

de Nies related how, at a speech at the University of Texas, Obama told the students “America has failed them” and he “set a daunting goal: Raise college graduation rates from today's 40 percent to 60 percent in ten years by adding at least eight million graduates” so “the President wants to get more students in the door by making college more affordable through increased financial aid and student loans.”

She concluded with an assurance from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan:

Secretary Duncan says everything is on the table. There's talk of adding more days to the school year, hiring an army of new teachers and, of course, raising standards. None of that is cheap and it could be a tough sell for states with tight budgets.

As if “everything” only includes ideas which require more spending.

From the Monday, August 9 ABC World News:

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Now to a stunning example of the U.S. falling behind where we shouldn't. New numbers today show eleven countries, including Canada, South Korea, and Russia, now lead the U.S. in the rate of young adults getting college degrees. That spells trouble, and President Obama said we can't afford to ignore it. Yunji de Nies is at the White House tonight.

YUNJI de NIES: Today, President Obama told an audience, that included 3,500 college students, that America has failed them.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: In a single generation, we've fallen from first place to 12th place in college graduation rates for young adults.

De NIES: How did we get here?

ARNE DUNCAN, SECRETARY OF EDUCATION: We got a little self-satisfied. And other countries have, I think, out-worked us. They have out-invested. They have taken this more seriously, and I think this is a wake-up call.

de NIES: Mr. Obama has set a daunting goal: Raise college graduation rates from today's 40 percent to 60 percent in ten years by adding at least eight million graduates.

OBAMA: The single most important thing we can do is to make sure we've got a world-class education system for everybody.

de NIES: Some education experts say the problem isn't colleges but high schools that fail to prepare students once they get there.

RICK HESS, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: A large percentage showing up needing remediation in reading and mathematics and courses that colleges would like to think have been done in high schools.

de NIES: To tackle that problem, the President is pushing a set of common academic standards so all colleges would have the same skills and the President wants to get more students in the door by making college more affordable through increased financial aid and student loans.

de NIES: It took 30 years to get to number 12. Do you think we can really get to number 1 in 10?

DUNCAN: I do. Is it an ambitious goal? Absolutely. Is it going to take hard work? Absolutely. But, frankly, failure's not an option here.

De NIES: Secretary Duncan says everything is on the table. There's talk of adding more days to the school year, hiring an army of new teachers and, of course, raising standards. None of that is cheap and it could be a tough sell for states with tight budgets.

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